How long should I give Canidae to work?

[kimrisa]

Good evening! Against my better judgment, I went back to Canidae when I ran out of my current dog kibble that wasn't working (My bulldog pup has history of loose stools). His current regimen of Fromm Salmon a la vegetable wasn't working that great (prior to that he'd been on C. Natural Lamb and Rice for a few months) so I decided to transition him back to the half used bag of Canidae Chicken and Rice that I'd tried my pup on when we brought him home. Like a lot of people, I'm seeing very runny stools (especially as the day goes on.) His first a.m. poop is pretty firm and then it goes downhill. So my question is how long should I give this kibble a shot before tossing it in the trash and moving on?

[whiteleo]

Are you mixing in the prior food with the new food? Bull breeds are very sensitive and probably need a longer transition period before going completely 100% with a new food.
I'd go 75% old food mixed with 25% new food for about 6 days, then 50% old food to 50% new food for 6 days, then 25% old food to 75% new food for 6 days until your 100% on a new food. It could be also that he is sensitive to grains and needs to be on a grainfree diet.

[CorgiPaws]

I'd give it at least a month on the food and if you see NO improvement whatsoever, then switch it.
That food is very carb heavy, so it doesn't suprise me that there are issues with it, especially with a breed known for a sensitive tummy.
How long have problems persisted? I had similar issues with my Corgi, chronic diarrhea, but the first morning stool was generally solid, then looser and looser throughout the day. It got worse and worse for about seven months, and then finally we determined it was an issue with carbohydrates causing a wealth of issues. We eventaully had to put him on a home prepared no carb diet because evn the carb content in "low carb" foods like Evo were too much.

[RawFedDogs]

Why do you seem intent on feeding rice? Maybe thats the problem. I would also try feeding a lesser amount of food. Maybe half of what you are feeding now just to see what happens. He won't starve.

[kimrisa]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply!

WhiteLeo: I have been mixing the new with his old food but maybe I moved to the 50/50 too soon. Part of the problem is that he wasn't doing great on the old food so an extra slow transition seemed kind of pointless but I'll slow it down a bit.

To answer your question, Corgipaws, Tuffy has had soft stools since we got him from the breeder. The only time he ever has truly firm poop is first thing in the a.m. and right after breakfast. It seems it doesn't matter what food we try...the problem persists. (So far he's been on C. Natural lamb and rice puppy, Fromm Salmon a la vegetable and now chicken and rice Canidae. The best I've seen is on the C. Natural lamb and rice but it was never great.)

RawFedDogs: I will try giving him just the straight kibble (no salmon oil or hardboiled egg mixed in) and give him smaller portions to see if it helps. I've tried probiotics and digestive enzymes too but they didn't help. In fact, they seemed to make it worse.

[DaneMama]

How much are you feeding each day?

[kimrisa]

Hi Natalie,

I'm feeding three cups per day, split into three feedings.

Thanks!

[DaneMama]

How much does he weigh? How old is he? From the sound of it, he might be getting a bit too much to eat. From what you are saying, he has pretty normal stool in the morning but gets more and more messy as time goes on. This can be due to a bit too much food on top of it being a new food switch. Possibly try cutting back a bit on food intake and see if that helps.

[kevin bradley]

agree with the others...3 cups is a lot of food. I'm feeding Orijen and Evo right now and 2 of my dogs weigh around 60 lbs. No more than 1.5 cups per day for each or they start to put weight on.

How long should you wait? Not sure. It took me a week of diahrrea and a $400 Vet visit to get off the Canidae.

[GCNJ]

Both my dogs, a Lab and a G.Shep did well on Canidae until whatever change they made to it. Then it was constant diarrhea and trowing up yellow bile.
I tried Mother Maes Country Naturals and they pooped like horses.
Now I have been feeding them Orijen chicken in am and the fish at pm. They have been through about twelve bags of it and doing great. More expensive? Yes, but the results of my dogs being healthy and happy are worth it.
If it was me I would throw that bag of Canidae in the garbage NOW!!!!!
Just my two cents......